Another Response
This just a quick note in response to Robbie's comments on my last post, because, as usual, he's kicked my ass and proven that I don't necessarily think my writing through ahead of time as I should.
I suppose I'm not entirely sure how the 'mainstream media' depicts the NAACP nor what the literati generally opine (so I can't point to any specifics either way in that regard). However, as an avid sports fan and chronic listener of talk radio, I can say that Jesse Jackson and the NAACP truly are criminalized in those spheres at least. (Bill O'Reilly and Mike Savage absolutely fascinate and disgust me, although I'm aware that that sentiment is exactly how they chip away at the armor of intelligence...)
As far as the conservative media goes (which has become the mainstream, of course, given that Fox News viewers vastly outnumber CNN and MSNBC viewers combined these days) Jesse Jackson is a laughingstock. The NAACP still clings to the belief that racism still exists and that there is still a need for programs like affirmative action and equal housing opportunities in many areas because people are not over their ingrained racist feelings despite their confessions otherwise. And rightly so - many studies have shown that Whites and Asians receive preferable treatment even if a Black person equally qualified shows up to apply for the same job or housing loan. But the decent, hardworking WASPS like John Gibson lash out when people make these claims and The NAACP attempts to continue their mission, employing the 'reverse racism' argument or relying on the logic that the owner of a house or store may pick and choose his customers and tenants like a feudal sovereign. Explicit racism, they argue, does not occur anymore, but they refuse to acknowledge that implicit racism is a far more insidious and vitriolic crime.
As far as the sports media go, generally they're a more liberal lot and largely stay out of politics save when a sports issue becomes inextricably linked to politics (like the baseball steroid scandal to names the obvious example), but there was a huge uproar several years ago when Rush Limbaugh for God knows what reason joined an NFL TV casting team and claimed that Donovan McNabb, a highly successful quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, was overrated because he was Black and the media was overly eager to embrace a successful Black quarterback. He was immediately fired, most sports writers denounced him, and while his argument may have had a negligent amount of truth to it, he was, plainly, wrong. The NAACP and Jesse Jackson hopped on the bandwagon, however, and all hell broke loose - suddenly the conservative media had some fools to blame, because, after all, Limbaugh was a smart guy who was only telling the truth to people who didn't want to admit it. But the sad part of it was that the sports writers quickly turned on him as well - what the hell does Jesse Jackson know about sports, anyway?
So that turned into a longer blog than expected, but that's okay. Stay tuned for my upcoming thoughts on Dr. Bounds, one of the Bobs from Office Space in the flesh, and my overwhelming disappointment on not being selected to be a group leader for summer school (in all seriousness).
I suppose I'm not entirely sure how the 'mainstream media' depicts the NAACP nor what the literati generally opine (so I can't point to any specifics either way in that regard). However, as an avid sports fan and chronic listener of talk radio, I can say that Jesse Jackson and the NAACP truly are criminalized in those spheres at least. (Bill O'Reilly and Mike Savage absolutely fascinate and disgust me, although I'm aware that that sentiment is exactly how they chip away at the armor of intelligence...)
As far as the conservative media goes (which has become the mainstream, of course, given that Fox News viewers vastly outnumber CNN and MSNBC viewers combined these days) Jesse Jackson is a laughingstock. The NAACP still clings to the belief that racism still exists and that there is still a need for programs like affirmative action and equal housing opportunities in many areas because people are not over their ingrained racist feelings despite their confessions otherwise. And rightly so - many studies have shown that Whites and Asians receive preferable treatment even if a Black person equally qualified shows up to apply for the same job or housing loan. But the decent, hardworking WASPS like John Gibson lash out when people make these claims and The NAACP attempts to continue their mission, employing the 'reverse racism' argument or relying on the logic that the owner of a house or store may pick and choose his customers and tenants like a feudal sovereign. Explicit racism, they argue, does not occur anymore, but they refuse to acknowledge that implicit racism is a far more insidious and vitriolic crime.
As far as the sports media go, generally they're a more liberal lot and largely stay out of politics save when a sports issue becomes inextricably linked to politics (like the baseball steroid scandal to names the obvious example), but there was a huge uproar several years ago when Rush Limbaugh for God knows what reason joined an NFL TV casting team and claimed that Donovan McNabb, a highly successful quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, was overrated because he was Black and the media was overly eager to embrace a successful Black quarterback. He was immediately fired, most sports writers denounced him, and while his argument may have had a negligent amount of truth to it, he was, plainly, wrong. The NAACP and Jesse Jackson hopped on the bandwagon, however, and all hell broke loose - suddenly the conservative media had some fools to blame, because, after all, Limbaugh was a smart guy who was only telling the truth to people who didn't want to admit it. But the sad part of it was that the sports writers quickly turned on him as well - what the hell does Jesse Jackson know about sports, anyway?
So that turned into a longer blog than expected, but that's okay. Stay tuned for my upcoming thoughts on Dr. Bounds, one of the Bobs from Office Space in the flesh, and my overwhelming disappointment on not being selected to be a group leader for summer school (in all seriousness).
posted by David Jones | 20:16
2 Comments:
I was an editor/photojournalist at a black weekly and a cub reporter at a daily.
The NAACP gets away with bloody murder, by and large.
http://christopher-king.blogspot.com/2006/03/why-progressive-black-man-fears-new.html
http://christopher-king.blogspot.com/2006/04/naacp-trial-live-from-new-haven-naacp.html
http://christopher-king.blogspot.com/2006/03/naacps-timmons-and-american-towers.html
http://christopher-king.blogspot.com/2006/02/naacp-ku-klux-klan-announce-merger.html
Pax
Fair enough. For what it's worth, I'm skeptical of Fox News' claims of viewership. Surely there are many Fox News fans, in a way that there are not CNN or MSNBC fans. There are people who watch O'Reilly and Hannity every day, or tune-in their Tivos, and not so many who do likewise for Anderson Cooper (or whomever they've got over there). This makes Fox look like a ratings giant, but it prefers a method of news delivery (the polarizing editorial personality, talking head, whatever) that is more prone to pick up consistent viewers. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that CNN gets as many or more casual viewers tuning in for news each day, but they would tune in for fifteen or twenty minutes and not consistently during a given hour for any particular "show."
Overall, I'm not inclined to disagree with the blowhards that the media in this coutry, speaking in the most misleadingly general terms, skew to the left. I disagree with them about the pervasiveness, degree, and invidiousness of this slant, and think it's as likely as not a function of the liberalizing effect of education (the "media class" being a rather more educated class). Additionally, the liberalism of, say, the New York Times and CNN is generally understated and a result of more liberal than conservative journalists; the conservatism of Fox News is an enforced managerial decision.
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